Welcome to Jill's House

Celebrating special children. Renewing their families.

Family Spotlight: The Hoffmans

You help replace deep isolation with meaningful friendships

When Julia's brothers and sisters would leave to play with friends, she would stand at the door crying 'I want to have friends, too! Why can't I have friends?'" said Holly Hoffman, mother of Julia, 12, who has Down syndrome. "It broke our hearts," added Julia's father, Mark.

Family Spotlight: The Works

Lifting Up Military Families

"We are a Military family that has moved a total of seven times in 15 years," said Pat Work, father to Jill's House guest JP, 12. "Our country has been at war for 13 of those years and we've been deployed back and forth to Iraq and Afghanistan a total of 10 times."

Family Spotlight: The Lozada-Reeses

“Jill’s House is the best thing that has happened to our family.”

“Thank you for helping me be a better mom. I was diagnosed with breast cancer the day after Thanksgiving. The day after Christmas I had a double mastectomy, and the last few months have been filled with chemotherapy treatments.”

Mother Recovering from Stroke Finds True Rest Through Jill’s House

Jill's House provides respite for children with intellectual disabilities and their families in the Greater Washington, DC area. We serve boys and girls, ages six through seventeen, with intellectual disabilities without regard to race, religion, or ethnicity. Our mission is to be a safe haven to which parents can entrust their children, allowing the parents a time of rest. To ensure that parents and caregivers get a real break, typical siblings are welcome to stay at Jill’s House.

We believe that parents of children with intellectual disabilities need more support. Our hope is that our model will help change the way communities address the needs of families with children with special needs.

Meet Jill

Jill’s House is named after a very special young lady. In 1992, Jill was born a strong and healthy baby to her parents, Lon and Brenda Solomon. Unbeknownst to them, Jill was born with Dravet Syndrome – a rare seizure disorder.

At three months old, Jill started having multiple seizures every day. The Solomons’ happy and peaceful life with three sons and a baby girl began to unravel. Lon and Brenda suffered tremendous stress and exhaustion. Sleepless nights and regular trips to the ER marked their
lives.

When Jill's House first opened its doors in 2010 to celebrate children with special needs and renew their families, we did not realize the huge impact respite would have on typical siblings. The "typically developing" brothers and sisters of the children we serve lead anything but typical lives. Out of sheer necessity, their parents pour attention, finances, worry and time on their children with special needs. As a result, the typical children--or "quiet heroes"--often feel neglected, confused, embarrassed and afraid.

Jill’s House needs more sponsors to provide respite and renewal to extraordinary families! Celebrate children with special needs by becoming a monthly sponsor today. For more information, contact Claire Waldrop at claire.waldrop@jillshouse.org or 703.639.5699.

Jill's House is a state of the art facility staffed with trained professionals equipped to care for your child's special needs. At Jill's House, your child will be cared for by professionals and highly trained staff who will guide your child through opportunities to interact with other children and take part in a variety of activities. There will be times of learning and fun as your child discovers a new home away from home in our comfortable, safe and friendly environment.

We invite you to get to know us better here on our website. Click around and see what we're about. Watch a video about our families or read a story about a child who benefits from being a part of Jill's House. When you are ready, schedule a visit to tour our facility or click the register link for information on how to plan your child's stay with us.

We are delighted that you want to join us in our efforts to provide care and support to children with disabilities and their families. There are many ways you can join in the work of Jill’s House!

Volunteer
There are dozens of ways to get involved volunteering your time at Jill's House. If you are interested in training and placement in a spot that uses your gifts and matches your time availability, start here.

Prayer Support
We rely on your prayers to sustain and support us on every level. Each week we send out a prayer letter by email with specific requests and needs. To join our prayer team, click here.

Partners
Jill’s House is honored to have had the support and encouragement over the years from many organizations, corporations and companies. Click here for a list of entities, or for information on becoming a partner.

Ways to Give
There are several ways you can support the work happening at Jill's House.